Gravity Falls: A Younger Summer
by AlphaKnight
Summary: Alternate universe where the events Gravity Falls took place when the twins were only 7 years old. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

So as many of you know, the incredible show Gravity Falls recently concluded its run. But this incredible marvel of a story has inspired me to write this story. So without further ado, let's get on with it.

 **Chapter 1**

The seven year old girl was sound asleep, leaning on her twin brother's shoulder. Dipper was staring at the back of the bus seat in front of him, wondering how much longer the ride would take. A bump sent his sister's hair flying everywhere, and he brushed it out of his face. Pulling his hat a bit more snugly on his head, he looked out the window, and lost himself in thought.

His parents had shipped him and his sister off for the summer to spend a few months with their Great Uncle Stan. The Pine's children's home in Piedmont had encountered some structural issues, and it wasn't safe for the kids to be around while renovations were being done. And so, with a few suitcases and a kiss on the head, the young twins were shipped off, up north to a small little town called Gravity Falls.

The loud squeaking of the brakes awoke the young girl, and she slowly and groggily raised her head from her brother's shoulder. Dipper looked over at her. "Hey, sleepyhead."

Mabel giggled in response, and looked past her twin and out the window. The woods outside the window were speeding by, slowly slowing until the bus stopped. The twins looked around. All of the other passengers had gotten off at other stops along the way, leaving the young siblings the only passengers of the bus.

The driver called out to the children. "This is it, kids. Here's your stop." The children gathered their belongings, before timidly walking up to the front of the bus. Unsure of what they were exiting the bus into, they walked out to the crisp Oregon air.

Once the young children's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the setting sun, they saw something they had not expected to see. A house (or in all honesty, more of a shack) stood before them, covered with question marks and distracting signs. The visual sight was overwhelming to the little twins, and they became absorbed in trying to look at everything before them, until their eyes rested on a sight they barely recognized.

Their Great Uncle Stan; Mabel didn't totally remember him, but Dipper's memory was a bit sharper. He remembered the conman from some old family get-together. The young Pines boy remembered the old man, having seen him talk to their grandpa Shermy a few years ago. He couldn't recall a time when the old man had ever spoken to the young kids.

The three stood in silence for a few seconds, before Stan , and looked down at Mabel. He surveyed her outfit; it was an explosion of fun and wonder, and then some. He cleared his throat. "Are you, uh, always this colorful?" He asked, unsure of what else to say.

The young twins looked at each other, then began to laugh. The two looked up at their great-uncle, who chuckled as well, before giving each child a pat on the head. He started to lead the two young children towards the shack, making small-talk as he did so. The twins laughter completely distracted them from the sounds of the bus, slowly driving back to where it came from.

* * *

The young twins spent the next hour wandering around the shack. Stan called it the Mystery Shack, and he told the young Pines kids many stories of how he'd gotten many people to spend much more money than they had planned at the store. Mabel was a bit frightened by some of the more weird and creepy attractions, but with her brother at her side, her fear quickly faded away into wondrous fascination.

With some help from Stan, the children transferred their clothing and their other belongings up to the attic, which was to be their home for the upcoming few months. The twins gazed upon the two empty beds, and then set about making them their own. Dipper was content with simply putting his favorite sheets on the mattress; a bedspread with constellations and other stars stitched into it. He then set about unpacking all of his clothing, which didn't take long. The young boy preferred to travel light.

His twin sister was another story. Mabel spent the next half hour sticking up posters of unicorns, rainbows, and cats all over her wall, before opening her first suitcase to unpack. This one was completely stuffed with assorted sweaters and skirts. Mabel happily hummed to herself as she unpacked the countless outfits that she had felt were necessary to her summer. The next bag she unpacked had all of her stuffed animals in it. Mabel adored each and every one of her stuffed animals, and would often stack all of them up in bed with her, so none of them would feel left out.

A dinner of pepperoni pizza later, and the twins were brushing their teeth and changing into their pajamas. Dipper wore a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a plain red t-shirt, while Mabel chose a shirt with a cat on the chest and her favorite pair of pajama pants; a fluffy pair emblazoned with unicorns everywhere. Dipper wasn't sure how she had the energy to be so awake after the long day they'd had, but before he could ask her, she tagged him, and playfully ran to the other side of the room.

Laughing, the young boy got up from his seat and chased after his sister, laughing as he did so. They darted around the room, trying to catch each other, before collapsing exhausted

Stan could hear the little children laughing and playing above him, but he was more preoccupied with another task. He'd told himself that he wouldn't keep looking at it every second of the day, but he couldn't resist himself. Walking over to the cabinet, he opened the bottom drawer, and pushed aside the piles of junk. He opened the hidden bottom hatch, and pulled out a dusty book.

The man sat down in his recliner and sighed. He flipped through the pages of the journal another time, trying to find something he missed, some cipher unsolved or some clue unnoticed. Nothing. He closed the journal and sighed. How the hell was he going to get the damn thing working if he couldn't even figure out how to work it?Stan absentmindedly ran his finger along the number on the front of the book.

"Grunkle Stan!" He heard the young girl call from above him. "Can you come tuck us in?"

He rose from the chair, and set the book back down in it's hiding spot, before walking up to the children's bedroom. They'd made their beds, and were lying down, the room's lamp casting long shadows on the wall. Stan went over to his grandniece, and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart." She yawned, and smiled up at him, before turning on her side and shutting her eyes.

The older man walked over to the young boy's bed, and ruffled his hair a bit. He giggled, and pushed his grunkle's hand away. Stan chuckled as well, before giving Dipper a pat on the shoulder. "Night, kiddo. Get some sleep." The young boy nodded, and pulled his blanket up a bit higher. He rolled on his side, and Stan began to rise from his kneeling position next to the boy's bed.

He flicked off the lamp, and stood in silence for a few seconds, hearing the two young children's slow breathing as they fell to sleep. He took a deep breath himself, before walking downstairs. Slowly, he walked out of the room and down the stairs.

The house was silent, as he picked up his journal again and walked over to the vending machine.

He entered the secret code he had programmed in; A1BC3. With a mechanical hiss, the machine swung open and Stan stepped inside. _Another sleepless night,_ he thought to himself, as he shut the secret door behind him.

Stan had spent far too many sleepless nights in his efforts. But this summer, something felt different. Stan felt more hopeful, as if answers were just on the horizon, waiting to be uncovered. He felt like he was on the verge of finally understanding what he had been trying to do for decades.

In the attic, the young twins slept silently, both of them completely unaware of the strange, fantastical turn their lives were about to take.


	2. Chapter 2

The first few rays of sunshine came through the triangular window of the attic room. A few chirps of birds outside roused Mabel, who rubbed her eyes and yawned. Blinking out sleepiness, she swung her legs over the side of her bed, and hopped onto the floor. She looked over at her brother, who was pulling his blankets over his eyes in an attempt to stay asleep.

Mabel didn't want to let that happen.

She jumped onto Dipper's bed, and started to jump up and down, shaking the entire bedframe as she did so. The young Pines boy groaned, and tried to kick at his sister. Mabel dodged his kicks, giggling as she did so. Eventually Dipper couldn't take it anymore, and he pulled the covers off of himself and grabbed a pillow. Joining in his sister's laughter, he playfully swung the pillow at her. She dodged the strike, and, picking up a pillow of her own, launched a pillow attack of her own.

Soon, the young twins were chasing each other around, each trying to swat the other with their feathery weapons. Their playful fun ended abruptly when they heard footsteps racing upstairs.

Half a second later, bursting through the door, Stan appeared, devoid of pants and looking very out of breath. Doubling over, he gasped and wheezed, before getting out what he wanted to say. "What the heck are you two doing up here? It's 6 in the morning and I wake up to hear two elephants galavanting up in my attic."

Sheepishly, Mabel and Dipper looked down at the floor. "We're sorry, grunkle Stan," Mabel muttered. Dipper also apologized. "We didn't mean to wake you up." The twins said, looking upset for disturbing their uncle's slumber.

Stan's angry resolve dissolved as he looked upon the two young children before him. How could he stay mad at the little seven year old kids; they were on the verge of tears at the mere thought of having upset him. His voice softened. "Eh, don't worry about it. I had to get up in a little while anyway. Well, seeing as we're all up, who want's pancakes?"

The young Pines siblings immediately perked up, and started to race each other down the stairs, to see who could get to the table first. Stan sighed. They got along so well; in the day that they'd been in Gravity Falls so far, he hadn't seen one of them without the other being right beside them.

It reminded the tired old man of someone... someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

There was a loud bang from downstairs, as if a pot or something had been knocked over.

"Dipper did it!"

"No, it was Mabel!"

He shook his head, chuckling slightly, before descending down the stairs to clean up the mess the two young ones had undoubtedly made.

A few hours, and quite a few slightly overcooked pancakes later, and Stan was just about ready to open the Mystery Shack. As it was the young one's first day in the store, he thought it fit to introduce them to some of his other employees.

He decided to start off with his oldest worker; Soos. Soos had come to work for him a few years ago, and Stan had come to treat him almost as if he was his own son. Sure, the big guy could make some silly mistakes, but his heart was pure gold.

Mabel and Dipper instantly became attached to the handy-man, asking him pointless and ridiculous questions that Soos answered without missing a beat. Stan had to admit; Soos was great with kids.

After Soos, Stan introduced his great niece and nephew the other Mystery Shack worker; Wendy Corduroy. The 15 year old redhead wasn't very fond of working, but she, like Soos, was a great person on the inside. She was reading a magazine at the register when the Pines trio walked over. Brief introductions later, and the twins were left with Wendy as Stan began his tour.

Wendy put down the magazine, and looked at the young siblings. "You guys want to do something cool?"

Mabel nodded enthusiastically, while Dipper was more nervous in his response. "But... Don't you have to do your job?"

Wendy chuckled, and ruffled the young boys hair, causing him to blush slightly. Your uncle starts the tours at 10. Gift shop doesn't open until 11. So that leaves Babysitter Wendy with an hour to show you two the coolest parts 'bout working 'round here. So who wants to go into those woods?"

Dipper's anxiousness faded away as he and Mabel followed the redheaded teen outside. The summer morning was warm, the sun shining down on the trio. Wendy hummed to herself as she walked ahead of the two young Pines kids, occasionally slowing down to make sure the young ones were keeping up with her.

She couldn't help but chuckle at how outlandish Mabel's outfit was. She was wearing a purple sweater, with a glittery heart in the center of her chest, with a pink skirt. Wendy had to appreciate the girl's fashion confidence. The teen had worn the same outfit for practically the past year and a half.

Walking through the woods, Wendy soon came to her sacred spot; a lawn chair, set up in a sunlit clearing. She walked over, and sat down, reclining in the chair and sighing as she did so. Mabel and Dipper looked at each other, at the teen in the chair, and then back to each other. Each of them picked up a stick, and the two began to have a mock sword battle. Wendy looked up as she heard the two laughing as they exchanged blows with the sticks.

 _'A responsible babysitter would probably stop them. But this chair is SO comfortable. I'm sure neither one of them will lose an eye or anything'_ The teen thought to herself, before putting her head back down.

Soon, Mabel found the upper hand. She struck Dipper's stick out of his hand, before pointing her own blade at his neck. "Prepare for your doom!" She said, trying to sound menacing through her giggles. Dipper was laughing again as well, as he struggled to back away from the stick his sister was pointing at him. He turned to try and retrieve his own stick, before promptly running face first straight into a tree.

The young boy fell to the ground, and grabbed his head, sobbing. Wendy immediately shot up from her lying position. _'Please don't be a missing eye, please don't be a missing eye, please don't be a missing eye.'_

She surveyed Dipper's wound. It didn't seem to be anything serious; there was no blood, and Dipper seemed to be alright, just banged up a little bit. Sniffling, he hugged Wendy until the pain faded away.

Mabel, meanwhile, had gone over to the tree Dipper had run into. Wendy looked over at her, casting a confused look at the girl's intense studying of the tree trunk.

The young Pines girl looked at Wendy. "When he ran into it, I could have sworn I heard a weird noise. Like, weirder than Dipper's-head-hitting-a-tree-weird. It sounded all metally, or something."

Wendy joined Mabel over by the tree, and Dipper followed shortly after her. To their surprise, Wendy's fingers brushed against the edge of what appeared to be a panel of some sort. It squeaked as Wendy slowly opened it. Cobwebs and dust covered what was inside; a small control panel with a few levers. Mabel, transfixed by the assortment of levers, began to absentmindedly pull them up and down, adding in her own little sound effects as she did so. As Wendy tried to stop the little girl from messing with the machinery, the trio heard another sound; a whirring of mechanical motors, coming from beneath the ground.

A few yards away, near an overturned tree trunk, a small patch of grass peeled itself away, revealing it to be a metal trap door. Gathering around the small compartment, the twins watched as Wendy reached down into the strange, dusty metal box, and pulled out it's contents.

"What is it?" Dipper asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and amazement.

Wendy held in her hands a messy journal, with pages sticking out here and there. It had a musty smell, and the cover was coated with dust, making the entire front of the book impossible to make out.

The young teen brushed off the layer of dust, and looked upon the cover as the twins gathered around her and looked at it too.

A golden, six fingered hand was on the front of the old book. In the center of the hand was a small 3, painted in with ink.

 **A/U I couldn't think of a way to de-age Wendy like the twins and still have her work at the Mystery Shack. If I took away 5 years, like I did to the twins, she'd be 10, and I don't think Stan would hire a 10 year old girl to work the Shack. So, Wendy is still 15. Eh, it kind of works out better anyways, since now I have an excuse to write Wendy as the Twins babysitter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
